Pride

WASHINGTON -- It was another one of those weeks in the capital when our leaders debated matters crucial to the survival of American civilization. Did President Obama try to upstage the Republican presidential debate by asking to address a joint session of Congress that same night? And did Speaker John Boehner dis the president, and the presidency, by denying him that slot? Tempted though I was to weigh in on this important matter, I decided instead to head over to the Smithsonian's American History museum, to preview a small but immensely powerful exhibit to remember the 10th anniversary of the Sept.

The 5 senses I have pondered what patriotism is for me. I believe one can touch it, smell it, feel it, see it and hear it. Patriotism is when I am able to shake the hand of a soldier in thanks for placing his or her life in harm's way for us. It is when one can smell the fresh flowers placed upon the graves of those who gave their lives for us. It is the feeling I have when our flag is raised - loyalty and love of my country. Patriotism is also that feeling I experience sailing into the New York Harbor and seeing Lady Liberty standing watch over us as a symbol of hope, freedom and optimism.

The 5 senses I have pondered what patriotism is for me. I believe one can touch it, smell it, feel it, see it and hear it. Patriotism is when I am able to shake the hand of a soldier in thanks for placing his or her life in harm's way for us. It is when one can smell the fresh flowers placed upon the graves of those who gave their lives for us. It is the feeling I have when our flag is raised - loyalty and love of my country. Patriotism is also that feeling I experience sailing into the New York Harbor and seeing Lady Liberty standing watch over us as a symbol of hope, freedom and optimism.

After 12 years, Orlando Black Pride founder Tricia Duncan said this year's event, which concludes Sunday, will be her last. Duncan started the organization in 2002 as a venue for people who were black and gay, but didn't feel accepted by either the gay community or the black community. "There wasn't anything for us. I didn't see anything that represented us," she said. "So you create your own. " Coinciding with Gay Days, Orlando Black Pride kicked off with a concert on Tuesday and concludes with another concert on Sunday at the Parliament House.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT. Lawyers headed back to court Monday to try to get New Orleans-based Pride Air flying again in time for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. Meanwhile, Pride chairman Paul Eckel said he is trying to set up a $15 million line of credit from a foreign bank to get Pride airborne. The bankrupt airline has not flown since Nov. 15. Eckel said his plan is to resume service next month between New Orleans and Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Orlando. That would cost $1 million, he said.

Congratulations, Maitland Little League! I have worked hand-in-hand with staff, council and numerous citizen committees for more than 18 years in an effort to make Maitland a great place to live, work and play -- and to build pride in our community. Yet our efforts to build community pride are paled by a team of 12-year-old kids just having fun. Live and learn. Way to go MLL, we're all very proud of you. Brian Jones Assistant City Manager Maitland

In response to Tuesday's letter to the editor from Margy Moore, "Dress the part": I fully agree with Moore about the way nurses should dress. Keep up the good work. My wife was in a hospital for two weeks last September, and the nurses looked like janitors. Some wore shoes so dirty, they must have just come from some outdoor sport. Hospitals should show some pride in whom they send in to care for patients. Irvin R. Walker Eustis

THE CONTROVERSY over the Lake County School Board's new ''American superiority'' policy is ridiculous. It is thought to be racist by many, but that is not the case. All that the teachers are required to do is to instill a sense of values and pride in students toward their country. There is nothing racist or bigoted about the situation.It is easy to see how one could possibly be offended. The policy states that teachers must teach that American culture is ''superior'' to others. However, in my opinion, this simply means that America had come a long way before any other countries.

WHEN Sentinel cartoonist Dana Summers finds it sickly amusing to link Nancy Reagan's borrowing some clothing with the president's responsibility for the deficit, it becomes another low point in his attempt to be funny. It actually defeats the purpose he must have in mind, that of eroding Reagan's popularity in the minds of your readers. It probably accomplishes the opposite reaction. Our first lady should always look nice when appearing on TV or in print and especially when accompanied by foreign women wearing most expensive clothing.

I READ the recent article about Florida Agricutural and Mechanical University's 100-year celebration with mixed feelings, mainly because of the one-sided comparison with the University of Florida, as well as the fact that one of FAMU's better achievements, its college of pharmacy, was not discussed in much detail.The University of Florida is 10 times the size of FAMU. This is especially true in matter of endowments.I am a 1979 graduate of the college of pharmacy. FAMU's college of pharmacy was the first in the state to offer a doctorate in pharmacy.

National pride and guns Growing up in Florida in the 1950s and '60s, I knew that after finishing school I would be spending a minimum of two years in the armed forces. During basic training, we spent an obscene amount of time standing in formation, marching, cleaning the barracks and, of course, qualifying with weapons on the firing range. But we also acquired various skills and learned to work together as a team. As were most Americans, I was pleased when our leaders decided we no longer needed a military draft.

When the mural of Roberto Clemente is finished at the Azalea Park Little League fields, "The Great One" will have company. New York City spray-paint artists Hector "Nicer" Nazario and Wilfredo Feliciano plan to add portraits of Jackie Robinson, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and another community-minded baseball star to the concession stand and other buildings in the park east of Orlando Executive Airport. A mural of Clemente, an icon in the Hispanic and baseball communities, was painted over by vandals earlier this year.

A day after a massive campus pep rally drew 9,000 raucous Knights to CFE Arena, the UCF main campus was still hung over with school spirit. Students making their way to classes Thursday were still talking about the UCF football team's historic Fiesta Bowl win and top-10 finish in the AP College Football poll. They talked about how the win injected pride and a sense of history and destiny into a student body that previously was tinged with apathy and a sense of inferiority. They're also hopeful that the big win will translate into big bucks, more attention and even more students for Florida's largest university.

When FSU's Levonte "Kermit" Whitfield made a game-changing 100-yard touchdown run on national television late Monday night to help earn the BCS championship, you might have heard the cheering throughout Parramore. This, after all, was the former stomping grounds for a quiet, slightly built kid who - like too many other young men in the poverty-plagued neighborhood - dreamed mostly of making it out someday. "This is a very tightknit community," said Brenda March, who oversees Parramore Kidz Zone - a program launched by the city of Orlando in 2006 to make the lives of the younger generation different from those of their elders.

PASADENA, Calif. - Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford said it was good to have a team from his league back in the BCS National Championship Game after a decade-long drought. "We've had a period here where it's been tough to get here," Swofford said. "The first five years of the BCS, there was at least one team that is currently in the ACC in every one of those five games. "People quickly forget that. " Swofford said that Clemson's win over Ohio State in the Orange Bowl gives the ACC the opportunity to win two BCS games in the same season.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Growing up in the Orlando area, Brandon Alexander attended a lot of UCF football games. The problem was, he didn't know they were UCF football games. "I didn't know about it until high school, my ninth or 10th grade year at high school, and my dad told me, 'You know, UCF is right around the corner,'" recalled Alexander, an Orlando Evans High graduate. "I was like, 'The gold team?'" On Wednesday, Alexander will start at free safety for the No. 15 UCF Knights — a team wearing gold — in the Fiesta Bowl against No. 6 Baylor.

The Oklahoma victory in the Orange Bowl was not only a victory for the football team, but was also a victory for all the people in Oklahoma. After the Oklahoma City bombing, which resulted in a great loss of life, two deadly and devastating tornadoes also hit Oklahoma with extraordinary force and damage and loss of life. The state and the people have endured and grown stronger. Now, with the Orange Bowl victory, something positive has happened that can bring some joy instead of sadness.

As Tony Wilson's little legs churned, his wide eyes took in the excitement of the moment. The youth was only 6, but he and his teammates on the Daytona Beach Bucs Pop Warner team were thrilled to run out on the field with Mainland's football players. "That was the highlight of my life," Wilson said. "I wanted to wear that blue and gold. " Wilson did. He was part of the school's only state-championship team in 2003. Class 6A Mainland (12-1), 8A Apopka (12-1) and 7A Kissimmee Osceola (11-2)

GAINESVILLE - Heading into a Nov. 16 visit to South Carolina, Gators senior defensive tackle Damien Jacobs did not want to be that team. The Florida team everyone remembered for breaking a 22-season bowl streak, losing to Vanderbilt for the first time in four decades or posting the school's losing season since 1979. Week after week, loss after loss, the 2013 Gators have descended to levels of failure long since forgotten. Now, Jacobs and his 14 fellow seniors look to rise up and salvage the season - and their Senior Day - with a performance no one outside the Gators' locker room would begin to entertain.